Gang Wars
by bookfish
Summary: The Socs are furious because of Bob being killed and greasers getting away with it and being beat in the rumble so they are jumping greasers like crazy. Meanwhile Ponyboy gets a perk in his social life... *Note there is a new character in this story
1. Ponyboy's POV: Intro

**A/N: Hey peoples!! :D!! Yes, I am very excited because this is my SECOND Outsiders story!! That's right; I have written another one before this! It's called 'A Dream And A Nightmare' and its by… DUH! ME! If you want to, please check it out. Hope you like this story!! **

**Just like what taekwondogrl006 did in one of her chapters for her story a brothers devotion, I will list out songs to connect with the chapters for at least this story. **

**Song for this chapter- I can't find any, it's a short chapter.**

I was walking over to where Cherry always parks that sting ray of hers, and as usual, she looked beautiful. Her long, red hair was in two braids, she had a purple spaghetti strap shirt on with a pair black sweat pants, and her shoes were dark blue. She was lounging in the sun, leaning against her car. She could obviously tell I was coming, because when she heard footsteps on the pavement, she looked up.

"Hi, Ponyboy," she said as she waved.

"Hey, Cherry. How's it been?" I asked in reply.

"Oh, fine, I guess…" she trailed off. Something was wrong.

"What's wrong?" I asked her, trying to be a good friend.

"It's Bob… I miss him, Ponyboy. Remember what I told you about your friend, Dallas?" she asked. I nodded. "Well, after he died… I don't think I can ever love again," I could tell my eyes were widening. Never love again? "I can't take another loss like that,"

"Cherry, I've been meaning to tell you something…" I said shyly.

"Oh? What's that?" she asked, her green eyes filled with curiosity.

"I… I…" I stammered. _Say it, _I thought_. Just say it!_ Before I had the chance to stop, I asked her a strange and idiot question straight up. "Do you like me?" I nearly beat the tar outta myself at that point. Cherry looked surprised for a second, but then became normal again.

"Oh, Ponyboy, didn't you just hear what I said? I said I could never love again, and besides, I'm a few years older. To most people my age, you're just a kid. And you're a greaser and I'm a Soc. Haven't you even _heard_ about what's been going on lately?" she answered and ended with a question.

I forgot to mention, ever since the hearing, the Soc's have been ganging up in groups up to _ten_ people and getting revenge on us greasers for killing Bob and being let go for it and for beating them in the rumble. So far though, it's only been the weaker ones they've been jumping. They're even jumping girls and other innocent people not in gangs just to prove they're not scared to bring us down. It was dangerous doing what I was doing just being alone in the open like that. But I figured I was safe with a Soc as popular as Cherry.

"Oh, okay…" I said, trying to hide the sadness I felt but not being very good at it.

"Ponyboy, I don't want to hurt your feelings or anything. Can we just be friends, please?" Cherry asked softly, her eyes soft and sad as he touched my shoulder very lightly.

"Yeah, let's try that," I said, trying to cheer me and her up. I hate seeing girls cry.

"Thanks, that really means a lot to me," she told me with a smile.

*****

At home that night, I could hardly sleep. I kept thinking about what Cherry said. _I don't think I can ever love again, _were her words. I was also thinking about her reminding me about the jumping. I sure didn't want to get jumped. I was awful scared, and Soda, being Soda, sensed this.

"Somethin' wrong, Ponyboy?" he asked me drowsily.

"Well… Soda, it's just that I'm scared about the Soc's jumping the greasers all the time lately. I don't want to get jumped," I said, shaking a little from fear and the cold. Soda knew me and how to get me to calm down again and put his arm around me and talked to me in a drowsy but soft voice.

"Look, I'm invitin' the gang to lunch tomorrow. We'll all be safe together, so just calm down, okay? You're shakin' like heck," he said.

"Okay, I'll try to calm down a little. Thanks, Soda," I thanked him.

"And besides, you don't have anything to worry about yet. You're not one of the weak greasers, you're one of the strong ones," he reassured me.

"Really?" I asked him, not to convinced.

"Yup. You were rockin' like Elvis Presley out there in the rumble with the Soc's," he answered as he gave me a playful punch on the shoulder.

"Thanks a lot, Soda," I thanked him again. We then went to sleep with his arm around my shoulder making me feel safe.

*****

At lunch the next day, we went to The Dingo to get some Coca Cola and burgers and more of the usual. We were inside when I noticed a Red Mustang drive into the parking lot. What were they doing this far east? I was soon to find out.

"Uh, guys, there's a Mustang out there, and I don't like it one bit," I said, trying to talk over their thunderous voices. When they heard me, they looked outside with me and I could hear Darry whisper 'I don't like it either,' through clenched teeth.

"Maybe we should check it out," Soda said as we turned back to eachother. Before any of us had the chance to say 'yes', we heard a yelp from outside.

"Help! Anybody, help me!" as soon as we heard that, we ran outside in two seconds flat.

**A/N: Soo?? Did you like it, did you like it, did you like it, did you like it?? Please, please, please, please, please, PLEASE remember to R&R!! I love getting reviews, but please be careful, 'cause I HATE flames!**


	2. Caitlyn's POV: A New Friendship

**A/N: Hey, hope you liked my intro! This chapter is introducing a new character for your info. It is also the beginning of a new friendship… **

**Enjoy! **

**Songs for this chapter- 'Everywhere' by Michelle Branch **

'**Miss Independent' by Kelly Clarkson **

'**Party Up' by Hilary Duff **

Hey, my name's Caitlyn Ross, but my friends call me Cross. My friends are my sister, Rook Ross, and my other friend, Alice Windmen. My sister's nickname is Book because she loves to read, and my other friend's nickname is Windy. We also have 'insult' names the each other behind each others backs. My sisters is Boss because she bosses us around all the time, and my friend's is A&W, as in the fast food restaurant. I'm not too sure about what mine is, but I think I heard them calling me 'Criss-Cross Emotions' once because I have lots of mood swings all the time. I'm kind of like that.

My sister and I are from Canada, but after our parents died, nobody would take us in, so the Social Workers said that we could live by ourselves even though my sister's sixteen and I'm fourteen, but only if we lived in a tight-knit neighbourhood 'cause then we can all look out for each other. We live in a small, worn out house. It's only about 800 square feet. We live in such a small house because that's all the American Social Workers and Government would give us. We live on the East Side of town, supposedly the 'greaser' side. There's a whole bunch of gang fights 'round here, between the 'Socs' and the 'greasers'. I've gotten used to it in the past three years. Just recently, the greasers fought the Socs in a big 'rumble' where they beat up each other and the greasers won, so the Soc's have been getting revenge by ganging up and beating up us greasers. Sometimes, I hate this place.

'Bout a month after we got here, my sister met our now sixteen year old friend Alice, over at The Dingo. She's the crazy type and the happy-go-lucky type. She's always jumping around. She had dirty blonde hair, glasses, and greenish eyes.

My sister is WAY quieter than her and she basically is either reading, working, or hollerin' in my face all the time. Sometimes, I hate her, I really do, so I can't help hollerin' back at her. We fight a lot. She has light brown hair and hazel eyes.

I'm kind of the monkey in the middle when it comes to personality. I can be hyper at times, but I'm also really quiet… a lot. I love to read and sometimes I hate it. Who am I? Besides my light brown, greased back hair and my blue eyes, I don't really know. The only thing about me that's not like my other friends is that I like to grease my hair. I grease my bangs to my right and just use a little bit on the rest of my hair. I'm also unique because of my jeans. All of them eventually rip at the right knee. Don't ask _me_ why! My style in clothes is mainly sneakers with t-shirts, jeans and a sweatshirt.

I go to school, and my sister was really good at it, but she had to drop out to get a couple jobs and keep me in school. I wish I was the oldest so I could drop out for the other one. I usually hate school. To make matters worse, I'm in all the 'smart' classes with the Socs. Great. I think that lots of them just get their moms and dads to bribe the school into letting them be in all the smart classes; lots of them are really stupid, I mean it. There's only Socs in most of my classes, except for a few of them. There's a greaser named Ponyboy in a few of my classes. I'm not jokin' about the name, either. I'm serious. Wonder why his Dad named him that…?

So you probably know enough about me now so the story can begin.

I was at The Dingo gettin' a Coke by myself, which was dangerous considering how much the Socs had been jumping us greasers lately, and in such big groups, too. I don't even have my own knife, but Rook was at work, and Alice would get bored in… five minutes, tops.

While I was there, I saw Ponyboy and four other guys. One looked pretty scary and muscular, another had blonde hair who looked very familiar, another with curly hair, and another with rusty-coloured sideburns. They were loungin' around and eating. I had heard about them 'cause one of them had murdered a Soc, then died, and another of their friends died the same night as the other. Some of them were considered heroes, others hoods.

As I was walking out, I saw a red Mustang speeding behind me, so I pulled the hood of my sweatshirt up, hoping that they would think I was a Soc not seeing the greased-up hair. I was wrong.

The mustang pulled up beside me and a group of eight guys game out, smelling heavily of whiskey. I gulped.

"What ya doin', greaser?" one of them asked. I could smell his breath, which smelled even stronger of whiskey than he did. I nearly gagged.

"Oh, nothin' really, just gettin' a Coke," I answered, trying to sound casual, but obviously failing.

"Okay, grease," he said more sternly. "listen and listen good, ya got it?" I nodded. "Good. Now, we're gonna have a little fun here and cut you right up and you ain't gonna fight back, ya dig? That way you can get to the hospital faster and we can beat up more greasers," he explained. Then, all the Socs took out a knife and closed in on me. I emptied out what was left of my Coke and held it towards them.

"Help!" I called out. "Anybody, help me!" I continued, shaking like a leaf. Then, I could see Ponyboy and his friends busting out of the door of The Dingo and came running toward me. Meanwhile, one of the Soc's was trying to cover my mouth, but I bit him.

"Ow! Blasted greaser!" he yelped. That's when Ponyboy and his friends got to me and they all had a pop bottle and some of them even had a knife. They started cutting those Socs up good and the Socs fought back. I decided to help a little and busted my bottle on the back of a Soc's neck. He turned to attempt to punch me, but one of Ponyboy's friends got him before he could.

After a few minutes of fighting, those Soc's drove off.

"Gosh, you were in quite a pickle there, huh?" A voice said. I was too busy looking at that Mustang drive off to see who it was. I looked beside me and saw Ponyboy.

"Yeah. Thanks for helping me," I told him.

"What were you even doin' out all alone like that?" he asked me.

"Oh, well…" I hesitated.

"Look, if you don't want to answer, it's okay. I'm just a curious guy…" he told me nervously.

"I wanted to get a Coke, but my sister is at work and my friend, Alice, would get bored in five minutes… tops," I told him as I chuckled, thinking about her sighing and asking me when we were gonna be done already.

"Hey! She's like me!" I heard one of his friends call sounding like he was making a joke. It was the one with rusty-coloured sideburns.

"Who was that?" I asked Ponyboy.

"That was Two-Bit," he told me. "He's always crackin' a joke. Even to the fuzz!"

"Really?"

"Yeah. And that one over there is Darry," he started explaining as he pointed to the big, muscular one. "he's one of my older brothers. That's Sodapop," he said as he pointed to the blonde one. "he's my other older brother. Darry's the oldest in my family. That's Soda's best friend, Steve," he said, pointing to the one with curly hair. "Soda and Steve work at the DX," he explained. Then an idea suddenly came to me. I snapped my fingers.

"So THAT'S where I've seen him! He works at the DX!" I suddenly blurted out.

"Yeah, all the girls love him," Ponyboy said.

"But I don't!" Soda said, hearing what Ponyboy had just told me. Ponyboy and I just shifted around for a minute in awkward silence as the others went on talking.

"Hey, don't you go to my school? You're in some of my classes. Caitlyn, right?" Ponyboy asked, breaking the awkward silence.

"Yeah, that's my name. And yeah, we go to the same school. I've seen you before," I answered.

"You're pretty smart," he complimented me. I blushed.

"Yeah, but you're smarter than I am," I told him. His ears turned red. "I've seen you playing football sometimes on the weekends," I told him.

"Yeah, we're kind of into that," he answered me.

"Well, don't ask me to join in, because I suck at anything athletic!"

"So then I guess you aren't the fighting type, huh?" he asked me.

"No, I guess not,"

"Uh… hey, wanna go to the movies with Two-Bit and I?" he asked me, his ears turning red.

"Uh, sure," I answered him. I thought it might be fun. "What time?"

"'Bout… five thirty. That okay with you?"

"Yeah, sure. Whatever works for me," I told him.

"Hey, Pony, do you realise our food's gettin' cold?" Darry told him.

"Oh, I never thought of that…" he stared.

"I never thought! Well, let me tell you…" Darry started, raising his voice every second until Soda started talking.

"Yo, guys! Remember what you promised me? We don't want me to run away two weeks after Pony did, do you?" he told them.

"Oh, right. Sorry, Soda, I forgot about that," Darry said.

"Besides, Darry, he was probably thinking too much about flirtin' with the pretty lady over here to remember!" Two-Bit said as he pointed at me. I blushed and I noticed Pony's ears flushed red with embarrassment.

"Oh, come on Two-Bit, be logical for once! The kid wouldn't be able to pick up a girl if his life depended on it!" Steve added.

"Oh, shut up guys!" Ponyboy said as he gave them both playful punches on the shoulder. I think Steve's little comment there bothered him. "Remember Cherry?" he added.

"Guys, this is all just gonna make our food colder, so let's go in and bring the little lady along!" Soda said.

"Do you wanna come with us?" Ponyboy asked.

"Yeah, sure," I told him as I shrugged. "I'm gettin' a little hungry," I added. So, we went in and I ordered one cheeseburger and we ate. Two-Bit always cracked a joke every now and then, Darry just talked about work, Sodapop talked about his and Steve's new project, and Steve talked about that, too and how he wished he was Sodapop to attract more girls in his direction, and Ponyboy seemed to just nod and laugh and say 'uh-huh' every once in a while. It was nice… but you should see how crazy Alice is!

We left at about 1:25 p.m. so Soda and Steve could get back to work. I told the guys I could go home by myself after Soda and Steve were back at work.

"Oh, no way missie, you're gonna stick with us!" Darry said. "You know what happened back there! That's how we met, remember?"

"Yeah, we gotta stick together, like glue to… glue to paper!" Two-Bit added, thinking of a joke to crack.

"We otta protect you, okay?" Pony told me as he put his hand on my shoulder but quickly took it off.

"Yeah, okay. Hey, I don't even have a pocket knife or a switch blade!" I told them.

"Man oh man, Pony, you've got a bad taste in girls!" Two-Bit said. "If she lives on the East Side, she's gotta have a blade!"

"Well, my sister isn't all into that, so I can't exactly get away with murder or anything," I explained to them.

"She's picky like that, huh?" Pony asked me.

"Yeah, she is. That's why my friend, Alice and I always call her 'Boss' behind her back,"

"Sounds like that friend of yours has gotta good sense of humour!" Two-Bit said to me.

"Yeah, she does," I said. "But don't go flirtin' with her; she's only sixteen going on seventeen!" I advised him.

"So what if she's younger than me! I like a girl with a good sense of humour!" Two-Bit replied.

"But aren't you still diggin' that Marcia Soc?" Pony asked him. We were having so much fun goofing around with each other that I hadn't realised we had just walked past my house 'till I saw my neighbours house.

"Wait a sec! We just passed my house!" I told the guys. They looked back and saw that old thing that I had to live in every day.

"That's your _house_?" Ponyboy asked me. I nodded in shame thinking about the size and the look of it. It looked like it was a thousand years old!

"Blast it, that's small!" Darry said.

"Yeah, it's 'cause of my parent's death. We _begged_ the government to let us live together, so this is the only way we can stay together without a guardian. My sister seems to be a pretty good guardian, though. She's really responsible, and although she gets mad at me… a lot, she's a good guardian," I told them.

"Shoot!" Two-Bit said. "That must tank!"

"Yeah, it really does," I said. I'd gotten used to it.

"Hey, whenever you're feelin' stressed out at home, our doors always open. Seriously! We never lock it!" Ponyboy told me.

"Wow, really?" I asked him.

"Really! We do it in case any old greaser needs to cool down or somethin'. And anyways, with my muscles, we ain't afraid of robbers!" Darry said, showing off his muscles.

"Gee, thanks a lot, guys!" I thanked them.

"No prob, now you should probably get into that house of yours!" Pony told me.

"Actually…" I thought out loud. "Can I go to your house? I'll call my sister and let her know I'll be home by dinner!"

"You can eat at our place, though, right Darry?" Ponyboy said as he looked at Darry.

"Sure, whatever. I can cook some more. Hey, do you eat like a pig?" Darry asked.

"No, I don't eat much," I told him. "Besides, that means less cooking for you!" I added.

"Alrightie then! Come with us!" Two-Bit said. I was so excited for some reason. At least I wouldn't be bored all day.

**A/N: Hope you liked it! I LOVED writing this chapter, but hey, I just love writing all in all! Please R&R, but please remember not to put any flames, but writing tips are always welcome!**


	3. Ponyboy's POV: Secret Lives Revealed

**A/N: Hey!! Thank you so much for reading my story!! I am so happy right now and I don't know what to say so I'll go right to the songs! **

**Songs for this chapter- 'Unwanted' by Avril Lavigne **

'**Little Voice' by Hilary Duff **

'**Cruella de Vil' from 101 Dalmatians (modern version sung by Selena Gomez) **

'**Welcome' from Brother Bear sung by Jump5 **

'**Bullseye' by Aly & Aj **

What happened was so unbelievable! We saved a greaser girl and she didn't act the part. She wasn't so tough and didn't even have a blade with her, and she didn't swear at all… she looked the part, but acted a little like a Soc… I could tell she didn't like fights, but she could stand them when we cut up those Soc's that had jumped her. To me it seemed as if she was the best of both worlds… a grease and a Soc. She was… different. If I didn't know her, I would've done what Dally did to Cherry and Marcia that night at the Nightly Double, or say bad stuff about her behind her back. I didn't tell her that, though.

It was a shame to see someone like her have to live in such a wreck like she did… it was only 800 square feet from the looks of it. Instead of going in her place though, she decided to come with us to our house. I could tell she loved it when she walked in… it was bigger for one thing.

"Wow, this place is so… nice!" she said.

"Really?" I asked her as I cocked one eyebrow like Two-Bit always did.

"Hey, don't steal my move!" Two-Bit said when he saw what I did.

"Don't you steal stuff all the time, though?" I asked him with a playful punch on his shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…" he mumbled. I rolled my eyes.

"You guys like to have a lot of fun together, don't you?" Caitlyn asked me.

"Yeah, we goof around a lot," I told her as I shrugged.

"I'd like to see you beat Alice," she said.

"She goofs around too?" I asked her.

"Yeah, she's kind of like Soda. Happy-go-lucky, ya dig?" she replied.

"Cool!" I said. It took me a lot to talk, but I seemed to be talking a lot with her.

While Darry was and Two-Bit were wrestling while Two-Bit was tellin' him about his latest attempts to get a new switchblade, Caitlyn and I talked a bit about movies and books and stuff like that, the kind of stuff the guys don't exactly dig like I do. I guess Cherry and I weren't the only people like that after all. We talked about _Star Trek_ and our favourite episodes and characters. Her favourite character was Spock. He was logical. The kind of movies she dug were stuff like 'The Sound Of Music' and her sister never let her watch James Bond, although she wanted to watch them. She dug books that were like tragedies.

"I don't know why I do, I think it's because you just wanna know what happens next so badly!" she told me. I thought she should read my 180 page theme I handed into Mr. Syme just the week before. Was he sure surprised at what I had handed in! 'Well, that's what you get for leaving loopholes!' I had told him.

After 'bout an hour of us talking about stuff like that, she suddenly realised that she hadn't called her sister yet.

"At least it's only three! She gets home at five!" she said as she got the phone and dialled. After a few seconds, she started talking.

"Hello, I'm Caitlyn Ross. May I please speak to Rook? Thanks," she said and then waited again. "Hi, Rook! Is it okay if I hang out at someone's place for dinner and then go watch a movie and come home at 'bout… seven? Who? Uh…" she said as she hesitated to tell her who it was. "It's those guys that were in the papers last week, Ponyboy and his friends. Can I, please?" she begged. "Okay, thanks!" then she hung up. "She said I can go to the movies with you guys as long as we stick together. Is that okay with you?"

"Yeah, that should be fine," I told her. "We were gonna do that anyway!" I added. She smiled.

"Hey, can I see your room?" she asked me.

"Uh… it's a little messy…" I hesitated.

"Oh, don't worry about that! My room's messy all the time!" she told me. So, I showed her. "I like it, it's simple," she said.

"You really like it? Thanks!" I told her. I didn't know why I cared, I just did.

After a few hours of more talking, watching T.V. and Darry and Two-Bit wrestling and talking, Soda came home.

"Hey, y'all!" he announced as he walked in.

"Hey, Soda!" Two-Bit said as he started to get ready to run to Soda for a fight. As he ran, Soda opened the door and dodged his attack.

"Gotcha!" he called out to Two-Bit.

"I'll get you next time…" Two-Bit called back as he skidded to a stop and turned around to walk back in.

"Well, with everybody here, I'd might as well start cookin'," Darry said.

"So, any chemistry yet?" Soda asked Caitlyn and I.

"Shut up!" I told him as I shoved him back playfully. I could feel my ears turning red. I tried to ignore it, and I thought Caitlyn was ignoring it too. We talked a little more and watched more T.V. 'till dinner was ready. It was one of my favourites- pork. I could hear Caitlyn whisper 'yes!' with a smile.

"You wanna stay for dinner, Two-Bit?" Darry asked.

"Nah, my old man'll flip when he hears I already had dinner and he and Mom already made enough for all of us," he refused.

"Okay. Later!" Darry called to him as he walked out the door.

Dinner was tuff. Caitlyn didn't eat too much, she doesn't seem the type.

"I love it! This is so good!" she said as she took her first bite. "I bet you guys'll never starve to death with Darry cookin' for y'all!" she added.

"Just be lucky that it's not my night to cook!" Soda joked. "I've been known for my green pancakes!" he added.

"Really?" she asked, surprised.

"Yup, he has done that before!" I told her.

"Wow, you guys are crazy!" she said.

"That's the way we roll!" I said.

"Wow," she said.

We ate dinner while she told us 'bout her life and other stuff like that, and I was really surprised when she told us that the Social Workers let them live together the way they did. They barely let us live together like that! Maybe they've gotten stricter over the years.

We were done dinner by 5:00 and I told her that we should start heading to Two-Bit's house. While we were walking, her ears kept turning red and I kept asking her if something was bothering her, but she said no, and it seemed no matter what she wouldn't tell me what so I just stayed silent. After we picked up Two-Bit, we were careful not to get jumped. It was scary thinkin' you could get jumped any second.

We got to the movies at 5:30 because we went to The Dingo and hung out there for awhile. We were five minutes late for the movie, and the staff wouldn't let us in, so we just stood there thinkin' of what to do. Caitlyn started to shake like a leaf and I didn't know why. She had a sweatshirt on with sleeves, unlike the one I had on the night Johnny and I ran away…

"What's wrong, Caitlyn? Ya cold?" I asked her.

"What? Oh, uh…" she said as she trailed off.

"You're scared, aren't you?" I asked her. It was more of a statement, really.

"Yeah," she said. "We shouldn't really be standing out here alone," she added.

"Hey, I thought you were a greaser girl!" Two-Bit said.

"Well… I don't act like one, okay?" she argued. I decided to break it up before anything happened.

"Uh… hey, why don't you show us your house a bit?" I asked her.

"Okay, sure," she said, smiling.

*****

We were in her house, and it sure was clean, but they only had one small sofa, one counter for their kitchen with a small lookin' fridge, a small table for their dining room, and a small coffee table. The radio and T.V. seemed to take up a lot of space. Her sister was on the sofa, reading.

"Hey, Caitlyn," she said.

"Hey, Rook," Caitlyn said back.

"Who are they?" Rook asked looking at us, confused. "One of them looks familiar," she added.

"This is Ponyboy and Two-Bit. Ponyboy was in the paper, remember?" Caitlyn introduced us.

"Oh! So _you're_ the kid that saved those… kids!" Rook commented. I could feel my ears flushing red. I _hated_ being called a kid by strangers.

"Rook, he is _not_ a kid!" Caitlyn defended, feeling how I felt. We were the same age, fourteen, so it seemed sense for her to defend us.

"Oh, I'm sorry… boy. He's the boy that saved those kids!" Rook said, rolling her eyes.

"He's not a boy either! He's a young man!" Caitlyn yelled. Her buttons had been officially pushed.

"But he's fourteen! That's not young man and that's not young woman, either!" Rook yelled back. Wow, things were rough here. At least I had Soda to break up the fights. Caitlyn's face started turning red and her hands curled to fists.

"FINE! I'M LEAVING!" Caitlyn yelled as she stomped out the door.

**A/N: Duh duh duuuuuuuh! Don't worry, I'll update soon, this is all I do now (pretty much. If all I did was write stories I would die of bladder infection or starvation, remember?)! Please R&R! ;D**


	4. Caitlyn's POV: Mad At My Sister

**A/N: Hey people from all around the world! I'm really hoping you like this story so far! **

**Songs for this chapter- It's a weird chapter; no songs. Sorry!**

My blasted sister had just yelled at me AGAIN and I was just SICK and TIRED of it! I wasn't gonna run away or anything like that; I was goin' over to Ponyboy's house to cool off.

After 'bout a minute of stomping down the street, I suddenly realised what I was doing. I didn't even know the way to Ponyboy's house, and there I was, right in the open, with no switchblade, just waiting to get jumped by those Socs.

"What am I doing?" I asked myself.

"Yeah, what _are_ you doing?" I heard a voice say behind me. I was too mad to turn around, so I just talked back.

"I don't know. I'm just not thinkin' straight," I told the voice.

"Yeah, Darry used to yell at me all the time about not thinkin'," the voice said. I turned around, and there was Ponyboy.

"I guess that's just what being a younger sibling is all about then," I told him as I shrugged.

"Man oh man, am I sure glad I don't have an older or younger sibling!" Two-Bit called as he was runnin' over to us.

"Where are ya goin?" Ponyboy asked me as Two-Bit kept on runnin'. "'Cause running away won't help…" he started, before I interrupted.

"I know, I'm goin' over to your place. Is that okay?" I asked him.

"Yeah, the guys do that all the time, so what the heck," he said as he shrugged. "Besides, with the Socs being Socs, we can't have you by yourself without a weapon!" he added. I grinned.

"Thanks, Ponyboy," I said as we walked on. Two-Bit had caught up to us by then.

"For an unathletic girl, you walk pretty fast!" he said.

"That's just what I do when I'm mad at my sister," I explained to him. "And besides, I had a head start,"

Two-Bit cocked an eyebrow. "But I thought unathletic people weren't supposed to be fast… at anything!" he said.

"Oh, Two-Bit, just shut up!" Ponyboy defended. Two-Bit shrugged in defeat and we walked on. After he went to his folks, we headed for Pony's place. It was a few minutes before we got there, and Darry and Sodapop were wondering what was goin' on when we got there.

"What's she doin' here?" Soda said as he cocked an eyebrow like Two-Bit.

"Her sister hollered at her, so she's spendin' the night here. Is that okay?" Ponyboy asked.

"Yeah, that's okay," Darry said. "Besides, the gang does it all the time!" he added.

"Thanks, guys," I thanked them as I plopped on the couch. "You've got a nice couch compared to mine," I told them.

"Really?" Soda asked.

"Yeah," I said as I sighed in comfort. "It's real nice. My place is only eight hundred square feet!"

"Shoot, that's small!" Soda said.

"It's all torn up, too," I added. "Looks a thousand years old,"

"Compared to your place, this is heaven then, huh?" he asked.

"Yeah, it is," I said, sighing again.

"Are you goin' to sleep already?" Darry asked, who I almost forgot was even there. "It's only ten after seven!" I hadn't realised what time it was.

"I'm just tired is all," I said. "Since I'm on a curfew, I go to sleep at midnight latest,"

"That's five hours away, so you'd better get offa that couch and start… doin' stuff!" Soda said. I got off the couch and just looked around.

"Whatta you guys do 'round here for kicks?" I asked them.

"Wrestle, read the paper, smoke…" Pony listed out. I nearly gasped at the sound of smoke.

"What is it?" Darry asked.

"Oh, nothin'…" I started.

"It's smoking, isn't it?" Ponyboy asked.

"Uh… yeah. You know what that can do to your lungs! My parents and my sister always warned me about it…" I told them, shaking my head. I'm scared stiff of smoking.

"It calms the nerves down, keeps ya steady…" Ponyboy said. "Ya wanna try one?"

"No thanks, I'm good," I said, feeling intimidated.

"Pony, if she doesn't wanna weed, she doesn't need to be intimidated to have one!" Soda explained. "I don't smoke much!"

"You don't?" I asked him.

"No, not really," he said. "Darry doesn't either," he added. "To proud of his physical strength!"

"So Pony's the only one who really smokes 'round here?" I asked them. They all nodded.

"I smoke sometimes, though, but only when something's bothering me or I wanna look tough," Soda explained. I looked at Pony, who was shifting around nervously. _Oh, well, _I thought._ I guess I can't get him to stop smoking, that's hard,_

"Pony, I ain't mad at you," I explained. "You can't quit smokin' I guess; it's awful hard," I told him. He looked up and smiled. I was never gonna risk a cigarette, but he can't quit. It's nearly impossible. I wish he'd stop, though.

We spent the next five hours watching the guys fight and listening to their radio and watchin' T.V. It was fun. When it was time for bed, Soda asked me if I wanted a blanket on.

"No thanks, I'm good," I told him. I was pretty warm in my hoodie and jeans. I slept so soundly that night.

**A/N: Hello again peoples!! Please remember to R&R and… uh… *awkward silence* remember that… I don't know what to say! :D**


	5. Ponyboy's POV: Red Ears

**A/N: This is of course my fifth chapter, please enjoy! **

**Song for this chapter: "Beautiful Eyes" by Taylor Swift **

**P.S.- This is a really short chapter, sorry about that. I have a plot and I have to length everything perfectly. You'll see! *makes an evil face because I'm not telling you* **

"Ponyboy, get up and outta bed! We're all hungry down here!" I heard Darry call from downstairs. I stayed in bed, though. Then, I heard footsteps. When I opened my eyes, there was Darry, Soda, and Caitlyn. "Three, two… one!" Darry said as they got ready to drag me out of bed. But before they started the dragging, I managed to beg them not to.

"Okay, okay, I'll get outta bed as long as I'm not forced to!" I told them. So, they backed up as I got up. "Thank you," I said. Then, we ran downstairs and had breakfast. We had out eggs the usual way; mine hard, Darry's in a bacon-and-tomato sandwich, and Soda's with grape jelly. Caitlyn had hers scrambled. When it was time for the chocolate cake, Caitlyn was surprised.

"Chocolate? For breakfast?" she asked.

"Yeah, we all dig chocolate 'round here. Don't you like it?" I asked her. Without a moment's hesitation, she grabbed a corner piece.

"Just don't tell my sister; she'll flip!" she said with her mouth full of cake.

"If we can keep our mouths shut to the cops, we can keep out mouths shut to your sister!" Soda said as he winked. Caitlyn just smiled. That smile instantly faded.

"Speaking of my sister, I should probably go back to her," she said. "She'll be worryin' her head off!" she continued as she ate the rest of her cake in two seconds flat.

"I thought she didn't eat like a hoarse!" Soda joked.

"You don't have to worry, okay Caitlyn? We already called her last night after you went to sleep," I told her. "Just savour your cake, okay?" she nodded and took another piece because she finished the last one already. When everyone stared at her, she said she was a chocoholic. We all laughed and she laughed with us. She was fun.

After breakfast she went home with me to make sure she didn't get jumped. Her ears started turning red again.

"Okay, that happens all the time, what's wrong?" I demanded her, remembering the night before.

"It's nothing, really," she said.

"Oh, come on, tell me!" I told her. She smiled. "Still not telling!" she said playfully. "Besides, this is my house," I looked and recognised that wreck she lived in.

"Are you sure you're safe alone?" she asked me.

"Yeah, I'm tough. I can take it, don't worry!" I told her, remembering what Soda told me the night before I met Caitlyn.

"Okay, later," she said as she waved and walked to her door. I waited 'till she was inside to go. I had to make sure she was safe.

**A/N: Hello again! Are you following me *makes confused face*? Whatever, please remember to R&R! ;D**


	6. Caitlyn's POV: The Love Letter

**A/N: I have an announcement! I have asked for some help with some polls on my profile, and I need all the help I can get, so please help me! It's a little project I decided to start for fun, but I can't do it by myself! **

**Song for this chapter: "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" from The Lion King modern version sung by Sarah Paxton **

Ponyboy had just walked me home, and I could feel my ears kept turning red. He asked why, but I was too embarrassed to tell him, so I just kept telling him I wouldn't tell him, and it worked!Do you wanna know why they were red, though? It's because… I like him. There, now you know. I'm afraid he doesn't like me back, though, which is why I was embarrassed.

When I walked through the front door, my sister was on the couch, reading, just like I had left her. I just stared at her, and she stared back, her hazel eyes burning into my soul.

"Hi, Caitlyn," she said seriously.

"Hi, Rook," I told her. We rarely called each other by our real names, only when we were really pissed at each other, which we were.

"As punishment for yelling at me, no social matters today. Just do homework and don't leave this house," she said. I just stared then ran upstairs to my room.

My room was fairly small, and it was the second door to the right of the hallway right by the only bathroom. The flooring was the same colour as the hallway, a very light caramel coloured carpet. The walls were plain light-beige and the roof was white. My small bed had a blue blanket on it with a plain white pillow and I had a small desk across from it, on the right side of my room. There was a large window overlooking my room across from my door. It was the only large thing there, really. Even though I'm pretty tall compared to most people my age, I have to live miniscule.

I opened my backpack, which was on the bed, and looked at my homework. I had to study for two tests, one for science and one for history, and I had some math homework. I also had to write a book report for my English class, but that was due Thursday. I had time; all day.

As I worked at my desk on my math homework, I looked out the window and saw a yellow Mustang speed by. I could see through the windows; the Socs in there were drunk, as usual. There were ten of them in there. I'd hate to be the greaser that got jumped by them. I shuddered of fear. I was suddenly scared stiff. Unfortunately, I had no curtains for my large window, so I couldn't block out the sights from the outside.

By three o'clock, I had finished all my homework and was bored like heck. I didn't know what to do, though, so I just lied on my bed and thought long and hard about everything that had been going on for the past day. Then, I had an idea to express my feelings about somebody. I looked for some scrap paper, tore some off, and started writing. This is what it said;

_Dear Ponyboy, _

_Your eyes are glowin', _

_And I'm a'knowin. _

_I've had to admire you from afar, _

_Even though I want to get into your car _

_And tell you 'Ponyboy Curtis, _

_I love you' _

_And hear you say 'I do too' _

_And I want to ask you for a stroll through the park _

_But I am too scared to. _

_So just one last thing; _

_I love you _

_-Your Secret Admirer _

Then, after I was done, I stuffed it into my backpack to put it into his locker the next day.

**A/N: Hope you liked it! Maybe it was expected that she liked him, but I just wanna make it this way, so… yeah. **

**Don't forget to R&R!**


	7. Ponyboy's POV: A Near Fight And A Kiss

**A/N: This chapter is pretty surprising… I don't want to give away anything, so just read on! **

**Songs for this chapter: "Million Pieces" by Newsboys **

"**Come Clean" by Hilary Duff **

"**So This Is Love" by The Cheetah Girls **

"**With You" from the Groove School CD collection **

Another Monday morning. Great.

I was asleep in bed when I heard footsteps and then I suddenly smelt bacon right in front of my face. I sniffed a little bit, then took a bite in the air. When I didn't feel anything in my mouth, I opened my eyes, and there was Darry, holding a plate of bacon right in front of me.

"Wakie, wakie, sleeping beauty!" he said.

"No fair! That's just cruel and unusual!" I told him as I attempted to take a piece of bacon, but he swiped it away.

"You're not gettin' any bacon until you're downstairs mister!" Darry teased as he started heading for the door. I sighed. Why did he always have to make things the hard way?

I got up and went down stairs half asleep. I sat next to my hard eggs and grabbed for some bacon. "Mmmmm…" I said. "this is good!"

"Thank you!" Darry said. Then, he called upstairs to Soda, who was in the bathroom, finishing his shower. "GET DOWN HERE, YOU HYGIENE FREAK! YOU'RE GONNA MISS BREAKFAST!" it's surprising. Soda doesn't care a hoot 'bout how clean our room is, which it isn't, but he cares a lot about hygiene. Darry, on the other hand, cares about messiness but not 'bout hygiene at all. I personally didn't care 'bout either of them. Too much worryin'.

"I'M HURRYIN'! I'M ALMOST DONE!" Soda called back. After a minute or two, he came down fully dressed and nearly fell down the stairs he was runnin' so fast. "Hey, guys, did I miss much?" he asked.

"Fortunately, no," Darry said. "Almost missed breakfast, though," he added.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Sodapop mumbled as he sat down.

"Hey, Soda," I started.

"Yeah?" he asked, his mouth full of a mixture of eggs, grape jelly, and bacon.

"Why do you always get spruced up before work?" I asked him.

"'Cause my boss tells me to. It brings in more girls… and besides, I want to show those Socs that we're just as good as them!" he answered. "I've gotten used to it, anyways," he added.

"You know what you'd better get used to? Getting up earlier, that's what," Darry said.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Soda mumbled again.

We had breakfast and goofed around until I had to go to school at eight. We took the car so I wouldn't get jumped. Soda drove. I nearly lost my breakfast because of him. It was nearly as bad as that day Dally took Johnny and I to Dairy Queen.

"Hey, Soda, would you mind letting me keep my breakfast instead of the road gettin' it?" I asked him.

"No, I don't," he joked. I rolled my eyes.

We nearly drove past Caitlyn, who was walking to school. I told Soda to stop, though.

"Hey, Caitlyn," I told her. She jumped, but then looked at us.

"Oh, hey guys. Sorry about that, I thought you were my sister. She's been mad at me since yesterday, and we only call each other our real names if we're pissed off at each other. Can you just all me Cross? That's what my friends usually call me," she said.

"Okay, Cross. Hey, wanna jump in?" I asked her. "You know how dangerous it is to be by yourself, remember?" I said.

"Right. Open the door for me, will ya?" she asked. I opened it and we drove to school talking and Soda got caught by the fuzz for speedin'… again. I sighed. "Does this happen a lot?" Cross asked.

"Yup," I told her.

"Well, at least he's a fun brother!" she said.

"Yeah, but fun can cost something sometimes," I told her. She chuckled.

After a minute of Soda arguing with the policeman, we got going again and in no time, we were at school. Most likely because Soda kept speeding.

"Later, Soda!" I told him as I waved. He waved back and drove off.

"I gotta go, don't wanna be late!" Cross said as she ran off. I shrugged and walked on.

When I got to my locker and opened it, a piece of paper fell out. I read it. It said:

_Dear Ponyboy, _

_Your eyes are glowin', _

_And I'm a'knowin, _

_I've had to admire you from afar, _

_Even though I want to get into your car _

_And say 'Ponyboy Curtis, _

_I love you' _

_And hear you say 'I do too,' _

_And I want to ask you for a stroll through the park _

_But I am too scared to _

_So just one last thing; _

_I love you _

_-Your Secret Admirer_

My eyes got wider and wider as I read it. Someone loved me? Me? _No, it's just a Soc pulling a prank on me, _I thought._ No one could love me!_

As I thought of this, I couldn't see where I was going and I bumped into somebody. I couldn't see who it was, but it turned out to be a Soc talking to his friends.

"Why, you little!" he said angrily as he held me by the collar of my shirt and pulled his fist back to punch me. Just before he could place that fist on my face, the bell rang. "I'll get you next time," he muttered under his breath as he put me down and headed to class.

"Saved by the bell," I whispered to myself as I headed for English.

I was pretty nervous for the next two classes; I was scared stiff of that Soc. I had noticed he had a few rings on his fingers, like a lot of Socs did. It was a sign of anger. They wore rings like Bob. They were getting us back, all right; a lot of greasers had been put in the hospital already.

At lunch that day, things were rough. I ran into Cherry, who looked sad when our eyes locked and walked away quickly after that. I kept on seeing Socs with rings on. There was one thing, though, that reigned supreme.

I was on in the field practicing football with Two-Bit, and he went to the bathroom for a minute. I was scared stiff. I had a good reason to be. There were five Socs, one of them the guy I bumped into, and they were coming right to me. I reached in my back pocket, then remembered I didn't have a blade. I forgot it that morning. I gulped. The one I bumped into spoke first.

"Hey, greaser, you're the kid that bumped into me this morning. You're gonna pay for that and for killin' Bob and for beatin' us in the rumble," I could smell whiskey. They must have brought booze to school. It was rank.

"Do I, really?" I asked.

"Yeah, now shut up!" another Soc said angrily as he reached back for a blade. He also had a bottle with him. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't fight them with no weapon on hand! I would die! I suddenly remembered about my voice, and how to use it.

"Two-Bit! Cross! Anybody!" I called. Then, right before they started cutting me up like sushi, Two-Bit came out of the bathroom and called for Cross and came runnin' across the field.

"Ponyboy!" He called.

"Two-Bit, get me outta here!" I called back. Then the Socs turned around and saw Two-Bit.

"Somebody, get him before he does too much damage!" the leader said. Two of the Socs ran over to Two-Bit with their blades. Right before they started cutting us up, Cross came… with Mr. Syme.

"Look! Over there!" she was saying to him as she pointed right at us and the Socs.

"Boys, what are you doing?" Mr. Syme asked them.

"Oh, nothin'. Just teaching them how to avoid a blade…" they replied casually.

"Look, if any of the faculty sees you doing this again to anybody, you're going to be suspended," Mr. Syme said.

"Yessir," they replied as they put their knives away. That was a close one.

When they left, Two-Bit and I thanked Cross.

"Oh, it was nothin' really, just savin' your lives is all," she replied. When it started to rain, Two-Bit and I started to walk inside when Cross asked me to stay. When I did, she asked me something I didn't expect from her. "Ponyboy, did you find a note in your locker this morning?" I nodded. "I want to show you something," she said as she dug in her sweatshirt pocket. Then, she took out a piece of paper that said 'Ponyboy' in the writing that my letter was written with.

"Who'd you get that from?" I asked her.

"Look," she said as she wrote on the paper. She wrote 'Cross' on it… and it was the same writing as the letter.

"You mean…" I asked her.

"Yes," she said. Her eyes said one thing; I love you.

"I… I think I do, too," I told her, reading her mind. She smiled, and now her eyes said another thing; let's seal it with a kiss. "Lets," I told her. Then, we closed in on eachother and kissed right there in the pouring rain.

**A/N: Yowza! Now was THAT expected? I don't think so! **

**Please remember to R&R! ;D **


	8. Caitlyn's POV: Revenge

**A/N: Hello! Wasn't the last chapter so romantic? **

**Well, don't get used to it. **

**Song for this chapter: "Save You" by Kelly Clarkson **

It was the most amazing feeling in the world

Ponyboy and I kissed in the rain.

I could feel the grease washing out of my hair and I was soaked. I didn't care, though. Besides, Pony had a towel and some extra hair grease.

While we were in the rain, I could feel joy inside. After we kissed, we laughed at how soaked we were and hugged and ran inside. While we were drying off, we talked a little.

"We look ridiculous," he said.

"Yeah, we do," I said. "But we feel wonderful, too," I added. "Right?"

"Right," he agreed. It was hard to leave him when the bell rang.

After school, we decided to take a walk. It had cleared up by then. We were walking in the lot. I had a premonition about it, though. I had a right to. I seemed to be nervous because I was walking a little faster than I usually do.

"Somethin' wrong, Cross?" Ponyboy asked me, trying to keep up.

"I just have a feeling… premonition," I told him. "Something's gonna happen," I added.

"Need some comfort from good ol' Ponyboy?" he asked me. I nodded. He gave me a hug. As that was happening, I saw a black Mustang across the lot.

"Uh… Ponyboy?" I said.

"Yeah," he mumbled.

"There's a black Mustang over there," I told him. He turned around and saw it. He reached in his back pocket, only to find no weapon. He gulped.

"I don't have a blade," he muttered to himself.

"Wanna break for it?" I asked him. He shook his head.

"It's too late," he said. "They're coming," he was right. They were coming out, and I recognised them. They were the guys that had jumped Pony at school. They got some other friends, too. There were ten of them.

"Hey, it's the greasy couple," one of them said uneasily. I gulped.

"Look, you'd better watch it," Ponyboy warned them.

"Ooh, whatcha gonna do? Grease us to death? Look, if it wasn't for the little lady over here you'd be DEAD by now, but we're gonna finish that all off right now," he said.

"I could call ten, maybe more greasers here, watch out," Ponyboy said nervously.

"Okay, guys, forget him. Let's break him down by taking his little girlfriend here," he said. I gulped again. They totally ignored him and ran towards me, taking everything they had to get me. Bottles, blades, and chains. Ponyboy whispered something in my ear.

"I'll run over to my place and call someone, meanwhile you just stay here," he said. "If you come, they could get both of us," Then, he broke in a dead run. The Socs started running in his direction.

"NO!" I called out to them. "DON'T HURT HIM!" they then turned around.

"Maybe we_ should_ go fight her," one of them said. After they agreed, they came back for me. I had a lump in my throat; I couldn't scream. They pushed me over and stood on me. The leader cut me up with the others, and they turned me over and cut my back too. It felt as if they were writing something. Then they turned me again and cut my face up some more. That's when I screamed.

"HELP! HELP, ANYONE!"

"Shut your trap, somebody shut her up!" the leader said.

"Gladly," one of them said as he cut my throat with a shallow cut of his knife. Then, they punched and kicked my head. I got dizzy, and then, all was black.

**A/N: Ooh, what's gonna happen? That'll be explained in the next chapter in Ponyboy's POV!! Until then, you'll just have to wait *finishes it up with an evil laugh*. Unless you're reading this AFTER I put it up… *smacks forehead* Stupid! Stupid! Oh, whatever… **

**Just wait! *more evil laughs* **


	9. Ponyboy's POV: Diagnosed For Life

**A/N: This is my 9****th**** chapter! Yay! **

**I also want to say 'yay!' to all my readers. I have 352 hits from 8 different countries! Thank you to USA, Canada, Singapore, Australia, UK, Sweden, Japan, and Finland! **

**Songs for this chapter: I can't find any... sorry!**

I was running to my house. Some Socs, five of them that had jumped me at school, had jumped Cross and I.

I got home after a few seconds since it was close to the lot and I was a good runner. I decided to call the DX and call Darry. Soda'd get the rest of the gang. I dialled and called Darry's place first, though, since he was big.

"Hi, this is Ponyboy Curits. Can I talk to Darry? It's an emergency," I said. After a few seconds, Darry talked.

"Ponyboy?" he asked, surprised.

"Yeah. Come to the lot, it's an emergency," I said quickly.

"Okay," he said. Then I hung up and called Soda.

"Hello?" I heard Soda's voice say.

"Soda, it's Ponyboy," I said quickly and in a panic. Before I could say anything else, Soda talked to me, sensing the panic in my voice.

"Ponyboy, what's wrong?"

"The lot. I was with Cross and we got jumped by ten Socs. She doesn't know how to get to the house from there so I came. You gotta get Steve and Two-Bit to come here. I already called Darry," I explained, my words tumbling into each other.

"Okay, I wi-" Soda started before a scream for help from outside cut him short.

"HELP! HELP, ANYONE!" It sounded like Cross.

"Come ASAP, okay?" I told him. He hung up and by then Darry came.

"That sounded like…" he started.

"Cross!" I finished for him.

"Who?" he asked. I just remembered he didn't know about her nickname, but I didn't have enough time to explain.

"Caitlyn! Now come on!" I told him. Without a moments hesitation, he ran out with me to the lot, the Socs crowded around Cross. Darry screamed and ran towards them, and I saw he had a blade. I nearly gasped of shock. Then, Soda came in his car, speeding, with Two-Bit and Steve and ran to where Darry was running. I decided to run with them.

The whole gang seemed to have a weapon or two, so those Socs got outta there. I didn't know why; they had more people. Maybe because other greasers would hear that and come to see what was goin' on. We even had rocks, and that would sure be bad. After they left, I sprinted to get to Cross first. When I got there, I nearly got sick.

Her face was covered in cuts and was bleeding and the grass was dyed a dark red. The guys caught up and saw it, too. They had surprised looks on their faces. Two-Bit's teeth were clenched and he started muttering under his breath. There seemed to be some stained grass behind her, so we turned her over. Right there on her back were words spelt with blood. After Soda cleaned it off with a cloth, we could read it clearly. It said:

_WARNING. GIVE UP. _

_-The Socs _

We stared at those words in shock. After a minute of, Soda broke the silence.

"We should get her to a hospital; she's unconscious, and she seems to have lost a lot of blood" he said as he looked at the puddle on the grass. We all agreed and went back to our house to call the hospital. After a few minutes, the screech of sirens sounded in the distance. They put her on a stretcher and carried her in. I asked to be with her; I needed to.

"Alright, son, you can go in with her," they said as I jumped in happily. The whole gang wanted to go in, but there wasn't room, so I was in there alone with my unconscious new friend.

*****

I was in the waiting room with the gang. Cross was being cared for… at least I hoped.

"Darry, can I have a weed?" I asked him.

"No, I don't have one," he said dryly. I was too worried to leave. I mimicked Soda, who was taping his leg and sucking in his cheeks. He looked at me.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I don't know, what you're doing. I'm trying to wear the stress out, I guess. I don't have a weed," I explained. _Why are YOU doing it?_ I wanted to ask him, but I kept my mouth shut.

He grinned "I wish I had one, too, He must have been really stressed out to need a weed. Although, since the guys seemed pretty annoyed, we stopped. I just stared out to space and thought. _What's wrong with her?_

After an hour or two of waiting, I didn't know because I'd lost track of time, the doctor came to us. He looked familiar…

"She's got a few scrapes and lost a lot of blood, but we're implanting some in her right now. She nearly died. She had a concussion and nearly got a broken bone. She'll have a small scar on her neck for the rest of her life, but not a bad one. It'll fade a little, but it'll be visible," he explained. "Was she kicked in the head or something?"

"It's possible," I said. "It's happened to me before," then, I'd been staring at him long enough to see where I'd seen him from. _That's Johnny's doctor,_ I thought. I got mad and exploded. "YOU!" I shouted. "MY BUDDY DIED AND YOU DIDN'T DO ENOUGH ABOUT IT!" I was ready to beat the tar outta that guy, but when I attempted to, Darry held me back while Soda talked to me.

"Easy, Ponyboy. Easy…" He said, trying to calm me. I tried to calm down, but my breathing was still rough and hoarse. I could feel the sweat on my face.

After he left, I started to cry a little.

"Let it out, Ponyboy. It's okay…" Soda comforted me. Then, I bawled. Soda started to cry a little, too, but not as much as me. He was crying for Johnny and Dally, but I was crying for Johnny, Dally, and Cross.

After a half hour, a nurse came to talk to us.

"She's coming around. You can see her now," she explained. She told us she was in room 539, the room Johnny was in. Noticing the pattern, I was worried about my new friend dying like he did. I was the first one in, and she looked terrible. She had an oxygen tube in her nose and a lot of other stuff connected to her.

"Hey, Cross," I said.

"Ponyboy? Is that you?" she asked.

"Yeah, it's me. I've also got the gang here; Soda, Darry, Two-Bit, and Steve," I explained. She smiled.

"Hey, guys," she said. "Can I talk to Ponyboy alone please?" she asked. They left and we talked.

"What do you want?" I asked her.

"If I make it out alive, can we go on a date?" she asked me. "There's a dance coming up,"

"Don't worry, you'll live. And yeah, I'll go with you to the dance," I said. I told myself not to cry, not to scare Cross. She smiled.

"Thanks, Ponyboy. You know what? They were running after you, but I told them not to hurt you, so they came out to me instead," she told me. I eyes got wide.

"Really?" I asked her.

"Yup. You don't deserve this, Ponyboy. I do," she said. "I make lots of troubles, make people mad…"

"But you're a wonderful person and you don't deserve to die," I told her. Her mouth curled up to another smile. That made me smile, too. Then a nurse came in.

"Caitlyn, somebody's here to see you," she said. Cross nearly jumped at the sound of her name.

"Just call me Cross, okay?" she told the nurse. The nurse nodded and walked away as somebody came in. It looked like… and it was… her sister. _Oh, boy, _I thought._ Not HER!_ "I don't want to talk to you," Cross said.

"Cross, just listen to me, okay? I'm sorry I ever called you just a kid," her sister apologized.

"Sure?" Cross asked her.

"Yeah," Rook said. "Someone else is here to see you,"

"Who?" Cross asked. Before she could hear who, 'who' came in.

"WOO-HOO!" it was a girl with glasses and dirty-blonde hair. "Hey, Cross!"

"Hey, Windy," Cross said. "No rough stuff, okay?"

"Okay. Hey, who are these handsome gentlemen?" she asked, pointing to the gang, who were coming back in because the door was open.

"Them? Ponyboy, Darry, and Sodapop were in the paper, remember?" Cross explained, pointing to us. "And this is Two-Bit and Steve," she added, pointing to them.

"Oh, okay!" Windy said. "How ya doin'?" she asked.

"Me? Oh, I'm fine," Cross said. "Just a little sore,"

"That's good," Windy said. "You're not as fun without being able to walk around, you know?"

"Yeah, I know," Cross answered.

"And you," Windy said, turning to Rook. "you're _always_ boring!"

"Shut up!" Rook said.

"Hey, Book, don't start a fight, okay? I'm kinda sick of them by now," Cross pleaded. I guess her sisters nickname was Book, 'cause she stopped right away. "Thanks," Cross thanked her.

"No prob," Book said.

After that, the gang and Cross' friends started talking. Two-Bit was teaching Windy how to do his eyebrow thing and after a few minutes Book started reading. The guys were just talking to Windy the whole time and they were goofing off. I stayed with Cross, who had talked a bit but not much. We mostly just watched Windy and the guys. Cross was right, Windy was pretty hyper. It was hard to keep her down. After a few hours, everybody had to leave except Rook, Darry, Soda and I. Then Rook had to leave because if the Social Workers found out they left their house empty when it didn't need to be, they would be kicked out pronto. We didn't do much then, so Darry and Soda fell asleep on some chairs, but I stayed awake. I couldn't sleep. Cross and I talked, mostly about how amazing the day was, then she went to sleep. I fell asleep eventually on her. I was awful tired.

*****

The next morning, the doctors told us that they took some of the blood that was out of her to see if she had any diseases in it or anything else like that. They said it would be a great opportunity to see if she needs any extra medical attention. They told us that they found something.

"What is it?" I asked them seriously.

"I'm afraid to tell you this… she has type one diabetes," he said dryly but with sadness in his eyes.

I'd heard of diabetes. You have to be real careful with your blood sugar; it can't be too high or too low. People can die of diabetes. Type one is the worst. I don't know the difference except that. I nearly cried, but we don't cry in front of strangers or Darry, so I stayed quiet. After the doctor left, Soda could see the pain in my eyes and that I was close to crying again.

"Go ahead, Pony, you can cry," he said. I let the tears fall down my cheeks but stayed quiet. Questions filled my mind, like how she could even get diabetes in the first place. At least we had an answer to how she passed out so quickly; she was probably tired. I think I was white as a ghost. I hugged both of my brothers individually, then sat down beside my now diagnosed girlfriend, fearing for her health and her life.

**A/N: Not much to say here… except for the fact I NEED suggestions for a project you can go to my profile to find info for. I haven't got anything yet! Pretty, pretty please?? Besides, you can also check out my avatar there, and I think it's awesome! You'll find out why. ;D (Besides, it's ALWAYS awesome!!) **


	10. Caitlyn's POV: Arrangement For A Rumble

**A/N: Heey!! Sorry I haven't updated for awhile!! I've been working on something for fun- I was writing my own themesongs for each character of the gang from 'The Outsiders' and for Cherry. I'm finally done it was so much fun!! I also haven't updated from the fact of SCHOOL. D: D: **

**Songs for this chapter: "It's Not Just Make Believe" from ELLA ENCHANTED sung by Kari Kimmel **

They… they all came for me… it was a nightmare… I was dreaming it again… the beating. I had to remember that I did it for Ponyboy, though.

It got worse and worse every time I dreamt it. More blood, more cutting...

It was horrible.

I couldn't fight back; I was somehow exhausted. I felt like falling on my face.

They helped with that.

They had kicked me and caused me to fall unconscious. Next time I awoke, Ponyboy and his friends were next to me. We didn't do much, even when Windy, AKA Alice came. I fell asleep again with Ponyboy a few hours after they left. I was really tired. The next time I awoke, I learned something terrifying.

I had type one diabetes.

My Dad had that. He had to be real careful with everything, or else he would end up in the hospital. He could have died from that, but he didn't. I was so scared, but Pony comforted me. I was crying, but I tried to say quiet. I guess my crying was just basically tears rolling down my cheeks. Maybe because it reminded me of my Dad… I do that when I remember them. We were a real close family, even though we fought a lot. After the doctor left, I remained still like a statue. All was silent. I decided to break the silence; I hate awkward silence. It makes me so nervous.

"My Dad… he had type one diabetes," I said quietly.

"So that's how you got it," Ponyboy said. I nodded.

"Most likely," I added to his statement. I gulped. I was shaking. I was honestly scared to death. "You know something? Sometimes I want to kill myself… really. With my sister and the Socs and everything on top of school just makes me want to scream! I do sometimes… sometimes I scream into my pillow while I'm by myself in the house. I've thought of this so much that I've nearly grown nearly not to be scared of death, but for the first time for a long time… I'm scared of death again." I said. I noticed Ponyboy's eyes were getting moist. "Is something wrong, Pony?" I asked him.

"Oh, it's nothing really… that's just a lot like what Johnny said to me once… in the hospital," he said. "Before he died,"

"Oh, Ponyboy…" I started.

"No, it's okay…" he said before Soda interrupted him with a hug.

"Ponyboy, be honest okay? I'll be honest; I forgive you, Cross, but I in fact am upset. You didn't know," Soda explained.

"Same," Darry said.

"What they said," Ponyboy said, upset to. I nodded.

"That's okay," I said to them. I didn't want them to regret saying that. I understood.

"You know what, Cross? You're a lot like Johnny… you're quiet to people you don't know, you keep your mouth shut, and all sorts of other stuff…" Ponyboy suddenly said. I felt real guilty then.

"Pony, I'm so sorry…"

"It's okay, and once again it's not your fault. Be who you are, okay? I think because of these qualities…" he said before his ears got red. "Never mind," he then hugged me. I remembered what I had asked him a while ago…

"Ponyboy, you told the truth about going to the prom with me, right?" I asked him, whispering. He had a confused look on his face.

"Yeah," he said softly after he put on his normal expression.

After a few minutes, the doctor came back in. Ponyboy had a look of anger on his face. I wondered why…

"Caitlyn, you can go home now," the doctor said. "We've been able to but enough blood in you and except for diabetes, you're okay," he explained.

"Are you sure, you can't do anything else for her like Johnny?" Ponyboy asked him. An idea dawned on me. That was probably Johnny's doctor. Pony looked like he was gonna kill him, but Soda stopped him.

"They've done all they can do, Pony…" he said to him softly as he held his shoulders from behind him. The doctor left and I waited for some help with the breathing tube.

After I changed back into my normal clothes, I walked out of the hospital with Ponyboy and his brothers. Ponyboy had a hard look on his face. I felt so awkward with him… he was too serious. My heart started racing. I was nervous. He didn't talk.

"Ponyboy… I know you're upset. I wish I knew him…" I said.

"I know," he said, and I wasn't sure which one he meant; either the upset part or that I wished I knew him.

Before I could realise what I was doing, I stopped him and hugged him, then I kissed him, not remembering his brothers were there. He was intrigued and kept on kissing. We gasped for air and kissed again. I could hear Soda whistle and I was back in reality. I guess Pony realised it too because he stopped right away. His ears got red as well as mine.

"What was that all about?" Soda asked.

"Oh, that…" Ponyboy started.

"Don't worry, Pony. We saw this coming," Darry said before Pony could defend himself. Pony shrugged and started to walk again. I followed him and he held out his hand slightly in a way of asking to hold my hand. I held it in a way of saying yes. Suddenly an idea dawned on me- I had to pick out a dress for the dance!

*****

We were going to meet up with some of the Socs' Social Clubs, to arrange a rumble. We met in the lot and discussed a lot of stuff. Let me explain…

As we walked in, a lot of greasers were smiling. There was a lot of greasers because we were with the Shepherd's outfit. While we waited I noticed Tim Shepherd kept on glaring at me.

"Who are you?" he asked me slowly.

"Me? Oh, I'm no one really…" I started nervously.

"ANSWER ME!" Tim blew up in my face. Ponyboy said he was strict, so I guess he was a little hard headed, too.

"Caitlyn Ross, but my friends call me Cross," I told him quickly, my voice shaking.

"Hey, Curtis!" he suddenly called out.

"Which one?" Soda called.

"The big one, Darry," Shepherd replied. Darry walked over.

"What?" Darry asked, a little annoyed.

"This one… Cross, she calls herself. What's she doin' here?" Shepherd asked him.

"She's here for the same reason we all are," Darry replied simply.

"For the rumble? Darry, you've GOT to be kidding me!" Shepherd said, surprised.

"She can fight," Darry said. "She's tackled Two-Bit before… and nearly won!" Darry said. I thought of that day Pony and I kissed in the rain- Two-Bit made a little comment about us and even though I'm not too athletic, I tackled him. I nearly won! I guess I picked up some moves from watching the boys wrestle at Ponyboy's house.

"Really?" Shepherd asked, still not taking his eyes off me. "She doesn't look the type,"

"Did you not hear what Darry just said?" I asked him, annoyed.

"Okay, look girlie, don't go looking for a fight…" Shepherd said.

"I am looking for a fight! That's why I'm here!" I said.

"Okay, break it up, break it up…" Darry said, coming between us. We shut up right away… Darry's big. "Cross, go hang with Ponyboy for awhile, okay?" he said. I walked away angrily; Shepherd thought I couldn't fight! I'd show him.

"Hey, Cross," Pony said as I walked toward him.

"Hey," I said.

"I saw you were talking to Tim over there," he said.

"Yeah, I was. He thinks I can't fight! Can you believe that?" I told him.

"Well…" Ponyboy trailed off.

"What? You of all people should know I can fight!" I said angrily. He was there when I nearly kicked Two-Bit's butt!

"It's just that… you look weak," he said, not making eye contact.

"I may look weak, but you know I can fight," I argued.

"Yeah, but he doesn't know that," Pony pointed out. That was true.

"Yeah, you're right," I said. "He doesn't…" I started, then stopped when I saw the Mustangs and Corvairs pulling up. "They're here," I said as Pony turned to look at what I was staring at. Everybody else was looking too and we all crowded to one side of the lot. They had about the same amount of people as us- they had fourteen and we had twelve.

"Yo, grease! Let's get this started already!" one wearing a red madras shirt said.

"What do ya want to start with? Location?" Tim asked.

"Sure. Our side, in the clearing of the woods," the same Soc said.

"Why not here like last time?" Darry asked.

"'Cause it's our turn!" a Soc wearing a blue madras shirt said angrily. "It's time for a rumble on the west side!"

"Sure. Where are these woods on the west side?" Two-Bit asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"It's on the far west side of town," the one wearing the red madras shirt answered.

"So basically it's one hundred percent Soc?" Two-Bit asked, wearing his wide grin. The Soc wearing the blue madras shirt growled.

"Is it gonna be skin?" Darry asked them, changing the topic. The Soc's huddled for a minute.

"No, it's gonna be knives," the one with the red madras shirt on said. I gulped; I wasn't allowed to carry around a knife!

"Cool," Tim said with a grin on his face. I was shaking and sweating. Ponyboy noticed.

"No, not cool. Some of us can only do skin," he said, and I knew he was talking about me.

"Alright, huddle up, greasers," Tim said, rather annoyed. Once we were huddled, Tim started talking. "What is wrong with you, boy?" he asked Pony.

"I can't do weapons, and I'm sure there's more of us that can't do weapons either," Pony explained.

"I won't let him fight if it's gonna be a blade rumble," Darry said.

"Alright, fine," Shepherd said. "I'll just have to get my boys used to no weapons, it seems to be the trend 'round here," he muttered angrily under his breath as we split up.

"It's skin or nothing!" Darry said.

"Fine! It's skin!" the Soc wearing a blue madras shirt yelled. _Spazzing out, much?_ I thought to myself. Hey, the guys nose was flaring. If it was a cartoon his eyes would be popping out, crimson red and there would be steam coming out of his ears and nose and he would be screaming like a tea kettle saying in it's way of saying _Your tea's ready, you idiot!_ I was a little scared of him.

"How many Social Clubs are gonna be there?" Darry asked.

"How many greaser gangs are gonna be there?" the Soc wearing the red madras shirt asked.

"Let's make it the same as last time; three," Darry answered.

"No," the same Soc said. "Let's double it to six," I gulped. SIX gangs and social clubs in one rumble? That would be real rough.

"Done," Darry surprisingly agreed. I felt white as a ghost and I shaking.

"It'll be placed at midnight, agreed?" the Soc wearing the red madras shirt said.

"Yup," Tim agreed. "Midnight when?"

"Midnight, this week Friday, skin. Okay?"

"Yup," Darry agreed. "No jazz before hand, or else,"

"Yeah, yeah," the Soc wearing the blue madras shirt mumbled.

"Se ya then," Tim said as they walked away. I was shaking. Midnight, Friday, skin. Ponyboy wrapped his arm around me as we walked home.

*****

When I got home and told my sister about the rumble, she practically exploded.

"WHAT?" she yelled. "DO YOU REALLY THINK THE GUYS FROM STATE ARE GONNA _LIKE_ THIS?"

"Look, we've done it before, she'll be alright," Darry said.

"Yeah, sure whatever. Just be home by one a.m. at the LATEST!" Book said, still a little angry. I nodded and hugged Pony and his brothers individually before they left. I ran up to my room and finished my homework. The next day was Wednesday. I fell asleep after dinner that night thinking of what would happen in just two days.

**A/N: Hope you liked, or even LOVED (3333) it!!!! **

**PLEASE R&R and maybe put on favs lists!! Thx!! **


	11. Ponyboy's POV: Typical Days With Fears

**A/N: Hey y'all!! Just a random chapter. I had to make it so the rumble will be in Cross' POV. (duh duh duuuuuh!!) **

**Songs for this chapter: ummm… most songs are about girlfriend/boyfriend stuff, and there isn't so much stuff about that in here, so… yeah… D: sorry!! I'll try next time!! :D :D **

It was your typical Wednesday. I got out of bed, had breakfast, and went to school. Not much else to say except for what happened the night before; the arrangements for a rumble with the Socs. Tim, using his usual temper, blew up in Cross' face thinking that she can't fight. I know she can… that really bugs me when people judge the book by it's cover.

The rumble's gonna be at the far West side of town at midnight, and it's gonna be skin. If it would be anything else, anything at all, Darry would not let me participate. I'm one hundred percent sure of it. Cross wouldn't be able to participate if we didn't do skin, either.

For homework that night I had Biology, Science, English, and Math. It was ten thirty p.m. and Soda was telling me to finish already.

"I'm almost done, just two more questions," I told him over my Math homework. I've been doing way better in school since I wrote that paper for Mr. Syme. I didn't just get a C for that project, I got an A. 'It's so good, it should be published!' he had told me. I told him not to try to get it published, though. I didn't want to become more known than I already am. I like being alone sometimes.

When I finished my homework, I plopped onto the bed next to Soda. I tried to get to sleep but couldn't. To break the awkward silence, he asked me a question.

"Ponyboy, do you like fights?" he asked me. He was probably thinking of before the last rumble, when I surveyed all the guys why they liked fighting.

"I don't know exactly. I don't see the point to fighting except for self defence," I told him.

"Okay," Soda said. "that's cool,"

"Are you upset that I'm not sure if I like fights or not?" I asked him. He sure sounded like he was.

"Naw… did I sound like I was?" he asked.

"Yeah," I told him.

"Well, I'm just tired, okay?" he said as he yawned. I yawned, too.

"Blast it, now I'm yawning because of you!" I said, pretending to be angry for the fun of it.

"Yeah, I'm evil that way," he said, then performed his own evil laugh, followed by a fake cough. He put his arm around me and we slept soundly after that.

*****

"Come on, lazy bum, it's time for breakfast!" I heard Darry call from the kitchen. I didn't want what happened on Monday morning to happen again, so I got up as fast as I could, which wasn't very fast. Sodapop came in and nearly yelled 'Ponyboy, time to get up!' and tickle me to death before he realised I was already up.

"Is that as fast as you can really go?" he asked me. "I thought you were gonna be a future track star!"

"Yeah, well I guess us 'future track stars' can also be kinda lazy at times," I told him. He grinned and motioned me to get up.

"Darry'll skin you if you don't get up soon!" he told me playfully. I shuddered at the thought as I got up onto my feet in two seconds flat. I yawned as I scratched the back of my neck and went downstairs.

"Morning, sleeping beauty," Darry said as he placed my breakfast in front of me after I sat down. "Or should I say rise and shine!" he said, ruffling my hair.

"It's almost back to normal, Darry!" I said, thinking of the little blonde patches mixed in with my actually normal hair.

"Yeah, yeah…" Darry said as he sat down to have breakfast. "Look, you guys try to get as worn out as possible today, alright?" he said.

"Uh… why?" Soda asked him, wearing a confused look on his face.

"Because, we've gotta get as much sleep as we can tonight; the rumble tomorrow is gonna be at midnight, and if we're worn out it'll be way easier to sleep," Darry explained. I agreed. I would tell Cross that, too, so she would know.

Soda drove me to school again, and we picked up Cross every day now. She was one of us now; we had to protect her. We had our usual chat, basically just talking about more _Star Trek _and movies and books. Soda groaned… as usual. He wished we'd talk more about cars, but of course Cross didn't know anything about cars, so we never really talked about them. We got to school and we each had English first. We sat next to each other, as usual, and Mr. Syme walked in a few seconds later.

"Good morning, class," he said. "Please, turn to chapter five of your grammar books, please," we were doing a lot of grammar lately in class. There were some 'new' words we were learning about from 'Gone With The Wind'. Every time I think about the book now reminds me of Johnny. And Johnny reminds me of Dally.

While we were silently working, Cross slid a note onto my desk. It said _For Ponyboy_ on it, so I opened it quietly. It said:

_I don't know why I'm even telling you this right now, but I can't wait till the end of class to. I know you already know, but I can't wait till Saturday night. _

_Love, Cross_

Saturday was the night of the dance. I really hoped I would be up for it after a rumble and all. I turned and smiled at her anyway, even though I was thinking _I hope it goes okay. _

A few minutes later, the bell rang so we walked out. I had Biology next. Cross wasn't in that class. I knew would feel awful scared in that classroom with all those Socs right before a rumble. Then again, Cross had P.E. class. That would be real rough.

After Biology, I had Lunch, luckily. Cross, Two-Bit and I went to the DX and had Cokes and Pepsis and other stuff like that. There were a few Soc's walking around town, and even though I knew they weren't allowed to jump us, I was shaking like a leaf.

"Is somethin' wrong, Ponyboy?" Soda asked, performing Two-Bit's famous eyebrow cock.

"Oh, it's nothin' really…" I said, my voice shaking ever so slightly.

"You know they can't hurt you right now," he said, his caring eyes staring into mine. I tried to look away, but he turned me around. "They won't hurt you," he repeated.

"I know. I'm just a little paranoid, that's all," I said.

"Oh, just suck it up boy! They ain't gonna hurt you before a rumble!" Steve yelled, nearly exploding.

"Steve, calm down, okay?" Soda said, turning to Steve. "He's just a little shaken up is all,"

"Yeah, so you can just shut your trap, Steve Randle!" to my surprise, Cross said. Steve gave her his look of hatred, growled, and turned back to his Coke and started drinking again. It was brave of her to do that; if Steve didn't know her and it wasn't before a rumble, he would've killed her.

We walked back to school together and we each had the next two classes together, luckily. We survived and walked back home together. We talked and talked and were having such a good time Cross nearly missed her house. She hugged me as she ran inside and I walked the rest of the way home in silence. I was enjoying the views it was tough for me to walk back into my house. Darry was home, as I thought he would be, and he seemed tired out.

"Darry, I'm home," I said.

"Hey, Pony," he said as he sighed. I read for a while and did some more homework to tire myself out. After a few hours, Soda came home.

"Hey, y'all," he said as he jogged in.

"Why are you jogging?" Darry asked.

"So I can tire myself out more! Duh!" Soda replied.

"Where's the car, then?" Darry asked.

"Don't worry, I'm not that much of an idiot!" Soda said. "It's outside!"

"Good," Darry said.

"I just jogged around the car for a bit to tire myself out," Soda explained as he plopped onto the couch.

"It's your turn to cook tonight," Darry said.

"Oh, come on Darry, can't you just let me skip a night since we'll be fuller if you cook so it'll easier to sleep?" Soda complained, sounding like a three year old kid.

"Sure, sure, whatever," Darry said, taking the bait as he walked up to the fridge and took out some meat to cook.

After dinner, I finished my homework and slept with Soda. I was awful tired.

**A/N: Okay, so not much to say here. **

**I say that a lot, don't I? **

**Anyways, just remember to R&R and put on faves if you liked it!! :D :D **


	12. Caitlyn's POV: Two Opposite Nights

**A/N: hello!!!! This is gonna be my last chapter! YAAAY!!!! I have over 600 hits!! *happy dance* PLEASE enjoy! **

**Songs for this chapter: 'Saviour' by LIGHTS (YESS!! Finally a LIGHTS song goes with my story!!) **

It was Thursday night, the night before the rumble. I had just had dinner and was working on homework. The whole school got this handout thing that the teachers thought would stop the fighting they saw around town.

They were too late to stop it.

I was on the first question, and it said 'What do you think conflict is?' I wrote down _Conflict is a terrible thing and nobody really knows why we even have conflict. Everybody hates it and yet everybody performs it. Conflict is fighting, blood-curling screams, and in the end, sadness._ The second question asked 'Why do you think this?' Since I had written my answer in pen, I wrote _Look at question one!!_ The rest of the questions were basically just about conflict, too. I went on to Math after that, then English and went to bed, thinking about conflict and dreaming about it. I heard blood-curling screams and crying and saw it all. Blood all over… it was terrible. I woke up nearly screaming.

"Get up, I've gotta go to work, and Pony'll be here any minute!" my sister yelled from downstairs.

"I'm coming!" I yelled back. "I just got up!" I got downstairs and had breakfast. In the middle of breakfast, the doorbell rang. "I'll get it!" I said.

When I got to the door, I saw Ponyboy there, confused face and all. I had just realised that I was wearing blue pants with rainbows on them with a Pinocchio t-shirt on that said 'I never lie!' on top of a picture of Pinocchio with a long nose and at the bottom it said 'okay… _sometimes_ I do.'

"Just got up?" Ponyboy asked.

"Yeah," I said sheepishly.

"Don't worry, I can wait," he said. I ran back and finished my cereal in two big mouthfuls and ran upstairs to change into some jeans, a t-shirt, and a sweatshirt. I was back at the door in eight minutes. I could hear Soda honking the horn the whole time, even from my room.

We got to school after about ten minutes and we just got to class as the bell rang.

*****

School was same as usual, and I got back at regular time with Ponyboy and started on my homework right away. I finished it in an hour since I was in a hurry. I figured that I had enough time to go pick out a dress for the dance on Saturday. Windy and Book came along since they usually do when I go shopping, which is rare. I'm not exactly the dressy-up type, if you haven't noticed.

"Oh my goodness, this would be AWESOME on you!" Windy said as she picked out a dress that was a gold colour with sparkles and stuff.

"Uh, I don't want to be the center of attention," I told her as she put it back on the rack. That was about the millionth dress she suggested from about the thousandth store.

"What about this one?" Book asked as she took out a plain black dress with some rhinestones on it.

"No thanks," I said. Then, my eye caught something. It was a sea green dress with a few accessories on it, but not too many. I picked it up and put it on in the change rooms. It fit perfectly and I felt beautiful!

"That's perfect!" Book and Windy said in unison.

"I'll change back and buy it," I said as I went back into the change rooms and got changed. When I got out, we rushed to the checkout. The dress was $25. I paid and it was about 7:00 when we got back home. Book cooked dinner and I ate as fast as I could so I could go to the Curtis' house to hang out before the rumble. I got there at about 7:30 and when I got there, it seemed that I was one of the first of the gang to come.

"Hey, Cross," Ponyboy said as he ran downstairs after I walked in. "You're early,"

"Yeah, well I wanted to come early. I'm just so excited!" I said.

"Okay," he said. "Hey, aren't you gonna take that jacket off and put some more grease in your hair?" he asked.

"What?" I asked him, not seeing why I would need to do that stuff.

"Jackets get in the way of swinging ability, and we have to show we're greasers!" he said as he grinned.

"Okay…" I gave in as I took off my sweatshirt. "can you pass me some hair grease?" I asked him as he was putting some in his hair.

"Sure," he said as he passed me some.

"Thanks," I thanked him as I caught it.

"No problem. Want to listen to music? I've got Elvis!" he asked as he walked over to the record player.

"Sure!" I said. I didn't want to get bored. He turned it on and it played 'Hound Dog'. It's a pretty good song.

We pretty much just did what we usually did for the next few hours and at about 10:30 Steve came.

"Hey, y'all," he announced as he walked in.

"Hey, Steve," Soda greeted him. "Do ya wanna play a card game or somethin'?" he asked Steve before anyone had the chance to greet him.

"Sure," Steve said as he walked over to where Soda was sitting. We continued what we were doing for about five minutes before we wanted to see the drama of the card game. Soda, as usual, was cheating. Steve, as usual, caught him and won. It took until 11:25 for Two-Bit to come.

"Where have you been, Two-Bit?" Darry asked him. "We're supposed to leave at 11:30 for the rumble!"

"Sorry, I thought five minutes would be enough time to drive to the park to meet with the other gangs!" Two-Bit said as he shrugged.

"Sure, whatever," Darry said.

"Now that all of us are here, let's go!" Soda said as he got up and ran for the door. Everybody followed him and we nearly landed on each other doing aerobatics.

We got to the park after about five minutes, as Two-Bit predicted. Shepherd wasn't too happy that we weren't early. After a minute of Tim shouting, we left for the Westest West side of town.

*****

We got to a parking lot of a mall near where the rumble would take place. We walked into the scene and I looked around. I couldn't count the Soc's that were there. Then again, I couldn't count how many greasers there were, either. There was a bonfire in the center of the field. We got onto our side. The East side of the field, naturally. I saw the leaders of the gangs and the Social clubs talking about who should start it. After a few minutes of standing around, Darry walked to the center of the field to announce it was only our fists and waited for somebody to take him on. Somebody from the huge crowd of Socs came out.

"Hello again," the guy said.

"Paul," Darry said. They got into position and circled each other. Then, when I heard a clock ring in a way of saying _It's midnight,_ Paul took a swing that Darry blocked, then Darry swung one back at Paul and knocked him down. We all charged.

I found a Soc to try to fight on my own. He was the smallest one there, which wasn't very small. I hit his neck from behind and he turned around and tried to throw a punch that I dodged. We kept on returning punches and dodging each one for the next few minutes. He got tired of this, so he reached into his back pocket and I saw an object gleam in the moonlight. It was a knife! I just stared. There was a lump in my throat and I didn't know what to do. I finally got the courage to scream. I saw somebody running through the crowd of people. It was Ponyboy.

I didn't realise the Soc was cutting me up until he cut a deep one into my calf. I screamed for him to stop, but he just cut deeper and continued on. Ponyboy looked angrier than ever and jumped on that Soc and started beating him to death. The Soc tried to cut him, but before he did, Ponyboy yelled out to the crowd.

"HE'S GOTTA KNIFE! THE SOCS ARE CHEATING!" he cried. Instant silence, followed by the Socs driving away because the rules were if it was skin and somebody cheated, the cheaters had to leave. We cheered. I didn't, though. I was exhausted, light headed, sweating, my hands were shaking, and my heart was racing. I could hardly hear anything. Everything was becoming a blur of colours. I saw something that looked like Ponyboy's face and something that sounded like his voice, but I couldn't respond. I was out before I knew it.

*****

There was a breathing tube in my nose again. I was just waking up. I could hardly wake up, though. I was so tired. I heard someone say something.

"Guys, she's awake!" I tried to move to see who it was, but someone put their hands on me. The same person talked, this time to me. "Don't move, Cross," it said in a slow, calming voice.

"Who are you? I can't see you, and if you won't let me move…" I said to the voice.

"I know," the voice said as I felt someone moving on the hospital bed. I then saw Ponyboy's beautiful, greenish-grey eyes and his soft, caring smile. "I'm glad you're awake," he said.

"Ponyboy? What happened?" I asked him.

"You passed out at the rumble. It's two p.m. on Saturday," he explained to me. "Your blood sugar was low. We called 911 and an ambulance came. I was with you and I asked the doctors what had happened to you. They were still figuring it out. When they found out, I nearly bawled. I was so scared for you, Cross. People die from low blood sugar," he said, as if he was telling me a story.

"Really?" I asked him.

"Yeah," he said, holding back tears. "That guy cut you; he nearly killed because you were losing a lot of blood," I thought about the pain in my left leg as he told me that. I winched at the pain. "Are you okay?" he asked in panic.

"I'm fine, my leg just hurts a little is all," I reassured him. Then, a nurse came in.

"Oh, good, you're finally awake!" she said cheerfully. "Let me help you with your breathing tube!"

"Why?" I asked her.

"You're allowed to go home now," the nurse said as she took off my breathing tube. I was ready to go in a few minutes.

After I changed into my normal clothes, the guys helped me out of the hospital. I was on a bit of a limp, though, since my leg was hurting. They wrapped it up in a bandage, but it still hurt.

Soda drove us home. He said he'd better do it because if Darry drove, we wouldn't get home till Monday morning.

"Hey!" Darry said playfully, then chased Soda until they got to the car. It took a minute for Ponyboy and I to catch up because I was limping.

"I'm sorry I'm slowing you down, Pony," I told him.

"Naw, it's okay," he said. Then, he stopped me and kissed me. It was like when I kissed him in the hospital a few days before. We stopped when we realised we were in the real world. We got to the car and Soda was bored to death.

"Hurry up already!" he said impatiently as he honked the horn. I giggled as we hurried to the car. We drove home and I called my sister from the Curtis' house asking if I could hang out with them for a while.

"Fine, but not too long. Windy and I want to put some makeup on you for the dance tonight, so be back by six o'clock, okay?" she said.

"Okay, thanks!" I thanked her before I hung up. I had nearly forgotten about the dance!

*****

We hung out for the next few hours and had dinner. It was Soda's turn to cook. His cooking was… interesting. The meat, whatever it was, was blue! That's right, blue! It tasted kind of funny too, but surprisingly good.

After dinner, I decided it was about time to go home. I got home by 5:55. Book and Windy were glad I was early because we had more time for makeup. They put greenish-blue eye shadow on me, lipstick, and the other basic makeup. I had greenish-blue nail polish on. Everything matched the dress. I had matching flats and greenish elastics in my hair for my messy bun.

At 6:20, there was a knock on the door. I was ready, luckily. I ran to the door and opened it. Ponyboy was there, wearing the nicest thing I had ever seen a guy wearing. He had a black suit with black pants, a white shirt, and a black tie. I'm a sucker for the classics. He stared at me with huge, greenish-grey eyes and I think I looked the same with my blue eyes.

"You look… beautiful!" he gasped.

"Really?" I asked him, surprised. I'm average weight, which around here seems to be fat. I also have some… unfortunate qualities. I never really understood why he even liked me in the first place.

"Yes… as always," he answered, reading my mind.

"You look very handsome, and I'm not just saying that because you called me beautiful," I told him. It was the truth. He gave me a confused look, but I got my eyes to say _It's true._ He smiled.

"Come on, Soda's waiting," he said. _I thought Darry was driving,_ I thought. Reading my mind, Pony answered my mental question. "Darry's too tired from work; carried too many bundles of roofing,"

"I see," I said as I took his hand he held out for me and walked over to the car with him, where Soda kept on yelling 'Come on, you can leave all the kissy-kissy stuff for the dance!'

We got to the dance in ten minutes. We were right on time, too. They were just opening the doors when we got there. The gym looked amazing. The buffet table had white cloths on them, there were tables in case someone wanted to sit down. They had white cloths on them, too, with silver chairs, the lights were constantly changing colour, there were banners everywhere that said 'DANCE' in big, green colors, or they said 'LET'S ROCK!' in big, red letters, and the floor was left the way it always was. The DJ was upstairs where they projected videos whenever they needed to show the whole school something. They started out by playing something by The Beatles. Luckily, they played Elvis after that. We danced and talked the whole night. It was the best night of my life, even though I had a cut in my leg.

*****

After the dance, Soda picked us up. We talked and talked. When we got to my house, we took five minutes to say goodbye. When Soda complained, we finished off.

"I love you, Ponyboy," I told him, a knot in my stomach.

"And I love you, Cross," he said back to me. We sealed it off with a kiss that definitely lasted more than the average one does. I held to his hand, but loosened grip when he had to go. I waited for the car to drive off before I walked inside my house. I was smiling, and thought about a few days ago, at The Dingo when I went to go get a Coke. _That was the best decision I've ever made my entire life,_ I thought to myself. I went to sleep dreaming of the dance that night, and not of conflict.

**A/N: Done!! Thx SO SO SO SO SO SO SO much for reading!! I'm thinking of doing a sequel or more, but I'm a little packed for ideas right now. Let's just see! ;) **


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